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This post is the second in my series of posts about how the world of motorsport works behind the scenes. The idea of this series of blog posts is to give you a bit of an insight in to the motorsport world away from the track, cameras and (occasional) glory.

For this post I went to see GT3 driver Julien Draper. Julien’s racing career started in Caterhams before moving to the G50 Cup and then on to GT racing in the G4 class and GT3. 2012 has seen Julien make the move to the Blancpain Endurance Series in one of the new McLaren MP4-12C GT3 cars prepared by Von Ryan Racing. Continue reading →

Last weekend was the first round of the MSA British Rally Championship, the Sunseeker Rally. Like the vast majority of motorsport fans I normally just watch this on TV but when I was given the opportunity to marshal on one of the stages I thought, “why not? It’s time that I gave something back to this sport of ours”.

I have to admit that although I do watch rallying from time to time I am more of a circuit racing fanatic and my involvement in the sport is working with a team, in the pit lane, the paddock and the pit wall. Never as a marshal. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I pushed aside my fireproof racing shoes and reached over to put on a pair of sturdy Continue reading →

Every motorsport fan has a favorite team, championship, car or driver and in the motorsport world this can change on a regular basis depending on who is running what, where, and with which drivers. In other team sports such as football, rugby or cricket the only thing that really changes are the players, the team itself keeps the same shirt, the same badge and plays at the same place (well for at least half the season). Motorsport doesn’t.

This blog post is the first of what I hope will be a series of posts looking at how a motorsport team puts a season together, how they prep for a race, what a motorsport teams workshop looks like and a look at the racing world from a mechanics point of view. My aim with these posts is to cast light on an area of motorsport that most fans don’t even think about let alone see. Continue reading →

This is my favorite circuit in the UK. Its two layouts always makes for great racing and great viewing for spectators.

Getting there is easy, located 20 minutes drive off junction 3 on the M25, when you come off this junction just follow the brown signs for Brand Hatch. Just be careful of the speed limit, its 50mph and as tempting as it is to put your foot down, don’t. Police regularly patrol this area and near the top of the hill there is a speed camera just where you don’t want it!

Parking for big events is clearly sign posted and marshals will be there to show you were to go, once parked just follow the crowds, noise and signs. For the smaller events, turn in to the main entrance and follow the road, once in the circuit there will be plenty of places to park.

Once in the circuit you will find yourself walking down Brabham Straight. Next to the straight are grandstands and the main shops. It’s worth spending some time having a look in these merchandising stores to see some rare motorsport books, models, old and new team kit and some signed memorabilia such as Senna’s helmet. Continue reading →

One of the things that I love about GT racing is the sheer variety of cars on offer for the discerning spectator to gork at. This blog post is going to look at what I believe to be the most varied category, GT3.

Over the last couple of years there have been some great additions to the stable of GT3 cars competing in championships such as Blancpain, British GT and Belcar, and this year we get to see some hotly anticipated cars racing a full season for the first time. Continue reading →

A list of top 10 motorsport videos is well overdue. Like most motorsport fans I love watching a great video on YouTube, there are a few out there but it can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. For some bizarre reason people feel the need to upload videos of them playing a computer game and then trying to label it as “Best racing video ever!” or “amazing motorsport footage”. As a result of too many frustrated searches I have put this list of top 10 motorsport videos together so you can watch the best and avoid the worst. All these can be found on the internet, just click on the title to watch, if they are not on the Continue reading →